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Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Friday, November 1,2002
Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Editors:
Salena De La Cruz, Pat Payne
Editorial
Our conscience
doesn’tletus
pick Spanovich
for governor
We really wanted to write a gubernatorial endorse
ment that would break the mold and get people riled
up. We wanted to give the Oregon Commentator fod
der for a whole article. We wanted to endorse write
in candidate Gary Alan Spanovich.
A majority of the editorial board believes
Spanovich would be the best governor — he offers en
lightened leadership and a change in the way Oregon
does politics. But there’s a lot at stake in this race.
Spanovich is a man of compassion, and he hopes to
bring that ethos to polities, to give Oregon a real vi
sion for the future. He would work with leaders in the
state to develop compassionate, workable plans of ac
tion to benefit most Oregonians. He has extensive ex
perience teaching college students, and he has
worked with students to bring Nobel laureates to Port
land State University for a conference on world peace.
Spanovich’s compassion has taken him to India —
homeland of his Buddhist beliefs — four times to per
sonally improve the lives of people there, including
organizing and raising money to build a school for 100
street children.
In an interview with the Emerald, Spanovich re
called the days of Gov. Tom McCall, when Oregon had
the sense that it was creating a different way of life —
a better way of life. Today, Spanovich said, there is no
larger vision, and Oregon politics is mired the status
quo, which means money and influence in leadership,
instead of vision and values.
We wholeheartedly agree. We want a different, bet
ter vision for Oregon than is represented by our cur
rent two-party choices. Democracy is corrupt when
voters find themselves voting not for the best candi
date, but against the worst candidate.
Nevertheless, there are stark differences between
the two leading candidates — Ted Kulongoski and
Kevin Mannix — that are important to us and that we
believe are important to students. Kulongoski says he
represents choice for women’s bodies, support for
state services and protections for the environment.
Mannix emphatically does not; his moderate mask is
n’t even affixed very well.
The easy thing to do, then, would be to endorse Ku
longoski. But we cannot, in good conscience, overlook
the fact that we believe a better candidate exists.
For some people, democracy means everyone votes
for what they believe is best, and then after an elec
tion, everyone’s voice gets heard at the Big Compro
mise Table.
For others, the compromise happens within them
selves, before the election. They pick from a pre-de
termined set of choices, and then the winners make
the rules.
We’re not telling students which school of thought
is right — the system is flawed. But our conscience
tells us the only endorsement we can make is for Uni
versity community members to vote their conscience.
Whatever you choose, please vote.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses can be
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Letters to the editor
Human services require
political attention
As the political dialogue is hijacked to
narrowly focus on taxation and terrorism
this election season, the electorate is inad
vertently taxing and terrorizing even more
than our education system. Human servic
es are beyond the crisis stage in this land of
child poverty and substance abuse.
As the media virtually ignores funding
cutbacks for mental illness, elderly care,
counseling services, the arts, health needs
and so many more essential services for
those who desperately need them, what
little humanity we have left is called into
question. The interests of those who can
afford to buy media messages are tram
pling the common sense approach of
serving vulnerable citizens.
Rarely reported studies show that pre
vention is cost-effective four to seven
times over when serving at-risk people
and families. It saves prison costs, other
crime costs, health care costs and other
social services costs by simply providing
help to people with needs.
Disabled, poor, and drug addicted peo
ple are not bad people. They, along with
the uneducated, children with behavior
problems and domestic violence clients
will help themselves if given proper inter
vention that they have not been previous
ly afforded.
As service-provider cuts are being ig
nored and long-term Measure 11 inmates
are finally being released with few
prospects and little assistance, the ques
tion arises: Is the rising cost of earing so
little about each other really worth it?
Mike Meyer
junior
, , Jfppyly,and hqman $qrvices program
" 1 ' 1 I i H i i I I < I I | I I ' ! i *
Vole no to help
Oregon’s economy
This is in response to the editorials
about Measures 23 and 25 (ODE, Oct. 28
and Oct. 29). Voting yes on both meas
ures would negatively affect Oregon’s al
ready suffering economy.
Voting no on Measure 23 is voting yes
for improving Oregon’s economy. It is pre
posterous to believe an 8 percent income
tax increase is not huge. Most people’s
taxes are approximately 30 percent of
their salaries. Another 8 percent on top of
that means it would be difficult to earn a
decent wage. Consider the people who
have medical and dental insurance.
Not only are insurance benefits worth
less if everyone has free health care, but
Oregon insurance companies would go out
of business, which would add to Oregon’s
already ridiculously high unemployment.
This relates to voting no on Measure 25.
Raising minimum wage another 40
cents will make Oregon’s minimum wage
$1.75 above the federal minimum wage.
Oregon also has the highest unemploy
ment rate. A high minimum wage and a
high unemployment rate are related. Rais
ing minimum wage forces employers to lay
off employees, raise prices or both, be
cause they cannot afford to pay $6.90 an
hour and expect to earn the same profits.
Those who rely on $6.50 per hour may
see their wage change if Measure 25 pass
es — not from $6.50 to $6.90 per hour,
but from $6.50 to zero per hour, with a
trip to the unemployment office.
Voting no on Measures 23 and 25 is
good for Oregon’s economy.
Luke Aillaud
junior
, , , . joyrnali$m
Bradbury’s actions
fight the hype
Before you cast your ballot in the
elections, stop and think about what
Senator Gordon Smith stands for. The
attack ads of the Republican Party and
Gordon Smith have done more than
stretch the truth. Recently, the Republi
can Party ran an ad saying that Bill
Bradbury decided to clearcut his own
property 10 years ago. Ray Wood, own
er of Ray Wood Logging and the man
who helped harvest timber on Brad
bury’s property, denies this allegation.
The truth is that Bradbury went far be
yond state environmental laws to protect
the health of his land. Smith is running
deceiving attack ads to look moderate and
divert attention away from his own dis
mal environmental record.
Let’s take a look at some of Sen. Gor
don Smith’s far from moderate votes:
The National League of Conservation
Voters ranking (2001) — 0 percent; failed
to give support for Senate Bill (H.R. 2217)
to restrict drilling and mining in our Na
tional Monuments; voted against amend
ment (H. Con. Res. 83) to increase fund
ing for environmental programs in 2002
federal budget; offered amendment (H.R.
2217) to suspend endangered species pro
tection for Coho Salmon and two other
endangered fish in Klamath Basin of Ore
gon and in California.
Bradbury believes in a sustainable envi
ronmental policy and has received en
dorsements from the Oregon League of
Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club.
This November, don’t believe the lies. Vote
Bill Bradbury for United States Senate.
Kevin Curtin
sophomore
political science